What do you really think of poetry? Be honest?

Earthhorse

It's difficult to know without knowing what aspects of Larkins and Plath's poetry appeals to you. A safe guess would be Phillip Levine (What Work Is) or Simon Armitage (Book of Matches) (I think I have those titles right). Bukowski as well if you're prepared to put up with something a little grittier.

If you're looking to broaden your horizons though I wouldn't know where to begin! Browse through the Norton Anthology next time you're in a bookshop, it's fairly comprehensive.

simu

Yeah, the Norton Anthology of English Poetry is class! It spans the whole history of the English language and there are notes explaining some of the more obscure references. I had to buy it for college but I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in poetry - you just open it on a random page and you might discover a new favourite!

eclectichoney

oooh that looks good and at 2000+ pages should keep me busy

nobodythere

I like studying people like Yeats, from an historical perspective. But I just CAN'T STAND reading poems when I haven't the slightest idea what it's about. I used to think (when writing poetry) that it was best left up to the readers imagination, but I think poetry is literal-suicide without some background.

Otherwise it tends be a bunch of words running through your head, and the determining factor of whether you like the poem is suddenly based on whether or not the words are pretty, not how much they mean.

'No Second Troy' by Yeats is my favourite poem, but I didn't like it until I had really understood it.

I also like short simple verses, where I can just open up a book in the morning, read it in ten seconds and take it with me in my head for the rest of the day, leaving some sort of imprint. I'm talking along the lines of

"I am a mountain of stone,
Everything wears me down,
but nothing moves me".

nesf

grasshopa wrote:

I also like short simple verses, where I can just open up a book in the morning, read it in ten seconds and take it with me in my head for the rest of the day, leaving some sort of imprint.

I agree to an extent, but I do think there's a lot to be said for longer more complex pieces to sit down and enjoy reading for an hour or two.

lordgoat

i like poems. i have a huge liking for short ones, not because of their brevity but i like the fact that so few words can say so much. William Carlos Williamson creates a bit of debate but i like him. Very easy to read. There are many others... Clarke, Whitman (no short ones there though...)

Sleepy

I like some poetry but most of it is sanctimonious, pretentious crap. Back in my college days I produced a night called Velvet Sessions which was a fortnightly showcase for unsigned musicians and poets. Some of the poets who read for us were fantastic though, to be honest, they were in the minority.

There does seem to be a lot of the "if I write poetry girls will like me" twats on the scene and the Irish education system doesn't help one garner an appreciation for it but with time most of us will find a few verses we like.

Personal favourite poets: Kahlil Gibran, Siegrfed Sassoon, Robert Frost, WB Yeats...

cjs19

Sleepy wrote:

Some of the poets who read for us were fantastic though, to be honest, they were in the minority.

There does seem to be a lot of the "if I write poetry girls will like me" twats QUOTE]


Very true, alot of people try to jump on the band wagon by rhyming words and calling themselves post modernist or some crap. There is an art to poetry lke there is to being able to paint. You either have it or you dont and just because you wrote My Summer Holidays without a spelling mistake in school, does not make you the next Yeats or Byron. Another thing is poetic licence, I hate that term, it's a scape goat for the challenged.

Dave!

Well I like certain poetry... I love Yeats for the most part, particularly 'September 1913'. I guess I like exciting poetry, actually... That poem is like an attack, it's great! I love 'The Raven' by Poe, as well... Excellent stuff.

I can't really define what I like about poetry and what I don't, but.. I like... some?

Anto and Moe

I am a huge fan of Poe and Eliot, I comitted to memory 'The Raven' and am almost finished doing so with 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' (undoubtedly one of the gratest poems ever)... Another one that I thought warrented such attention is Dr. Seuses 'Yertle the Turtle'!